---
title: "Agents Overview"
description: "Standardized AI workflows that combine prompts, rules, and tools to complete specific, repeatable tasks"
sidebarTitle: "Overview"
---

<Card title="Agents in Continue" icon="robot">
  Agents are custom AI workflows that combine a prompt, rules, and tools (MCPs and more) to complete specific, repeatable tasks.
  They live in the Continue Mission Control and can be executed from Mission Control (web interface), TUI mode, or headless automation.
</Card>

## What Are Agents?

Agents let your team standardize common workflows like opening GitHub PRs, summarizing analytics, or auditing security. Each agent includes:

### Agent Components

| **Component** | **Description** | **Example** |
|----------------|-----------------|--------------|
| **Prompt** | The agent’s main instruction that defines what it does and how it should behave. Additional user input is appended when invoked. | Example prompt: “Summarize ongoing work with status, blockers, and next steps. Use markdown formatting and a concise, professional tone.” |
| **Rules** | Define consistent standards or behaviors that guide how the agent responds. Rules help ensure reliability across team usage. | “Always include related issue or PR links when summarizing work.” |
| **Tools / MCPs** | External systems or integrations the agent can call to complete tasks. MCPs (Model Context Protocols) extend functionality through APIs. | GitHub, PostHog, Supabase |
| **Model** | The large language model that powers the agent’s reasoning and output generation. | Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| **Visibility** | Determines who can view or use the agent. Controls access at creation time. | Public, Organization, or Private |

<Info>
  Mission Control is in beta. Please share any feedback with us in [GitHub discussions](https://github.com/continuedev/continue/discussions/8051).
</Info>

## Ways to Run Agents

You can run Agents in three main ways:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="🌐 Mission Control">
    **Interactive web interface**
    
    Trigger from the Continue Mission Control and review results in real-time.
    
    ```bash
    # Navigate to hub.continue.dev/agents
    # Click "Run Agent" on any agent
    # Monitor progress and review outputs
    ```
    
    Perfect for: Interactive debugging, reviewing agent outputs, team collaboration
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="💻 TUI Mode">
    **Interactive terminal mode**
    
    Launch from terminal for live interaction and testing.
    
    ```bash
    cn --agent my-org/github-pr-agent
    # Interactive chat interface opens
    # Type your specific request
    # Review and approve actions
    ```
    
    Perfect for: Local development, testing prompts, quick one-off tasks
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="🤖 Headless Mode">
    **Automated execution**
    
    Run one-off or scheduled tasks automatically without interaction.
    
    ```bash
    cn -p --agent my-org/snyk-agent "Run weekly security scan" --auto
    ```
    
    Perfect for: CI/CD pipelines, scheduled tasks, webhook integrations
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Pre-configured Agents

Skip the setup and use battle-tested agents from our cookbook collection:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="🔒 Security Scanning" icon="shield-check" href="/guides/snyk-mcp-continue-cookbook">
    `continuedev/snyk-continuous-ai-agent`
    Finds vulnerabilities and opens PRs with fixes
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="🐛 GitHub Management" icon="github" href="/guides/github-mcp-continue-cookbook">
    `continuedev/github-project-manager-agent`
    Triages issues and manages project workflows
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="📊 Analytics Insights" icon="chart-bar" href="/guides/posthog-github-continuous-ai">
    `continuedev/posthog-continuous-ai-agent`
    Analyzes user data and creates actionable tasks
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="⚡ Performance Optimization" icon="gauge-high" href="/guides/netlify-mcp-continuous-deployment">
    `continuedev/netlify-continuous-ai-agent`
    Monitors Core Web Vitals and optimizes deployments
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="🗄️ Database Auditing" icon="database" href="/guides/supabase-mcp-database-workflow">
    `continuedev/supabase-agent`
    Audits RLS security and generates migrations
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="🔄 Data Pipelines" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/guides/dlt-mcp-continue-cookbook">
    `continuedev/dlt-agent`
    Inspects pipelines and debugs load errors
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  **Explore More Agents**: Browse the complete collection of pre-configured agents and MCP integration cookbooks in our [Guides Overview](/guides/overview#mcp-integration-cookbooks).
</Info>

{/* ## Webhook Integrations

Trigger Agents automatically through secure webhooks for CI/CD integration:

```bash
POST /webhooks/ingest/:webhookId
{
  "payload": { "trigger": "nightly-security-scan" }
}
```

Perfect for connecting with:
- GitHub Actions workflows
- Monitoring alerts (Sentry, DataDog)
- Deployment pipelines
- Scheduled maintenance tasks */}

## Collaboration

Agents are organizational assets — once created, everyone in your org can use them:

| Role | Permissions |
|------|-------------|
| **Public** | Use, create, remix, and delete Agents |
| **Organization** | Share agents with your team |
| **Private** | Create, edit, and delete Agents for your personal use |

## Getting Started

<Steps>
  <Step title="Try a Pre-configured Agent">
    Start with a cookbook agent like `continuedev/github-project-manager-agent`:
    
    ```bash
    cn --agent continuedev/github-project-manager-agent "List open issues labeled bug"
    ```
  </Step>
  
  <Step title="Practice with TUI Mode">
    Test agents locally before automation:
    
    ```bash
    cn --agent continuedev/snyk-continuous-ai-agent
    # Interactive mode - perfect for learning how to use the agent for your use case
    ```
  </Step>
  
  <Step title="Create Your First Agent">
    Ready to build custom workflows? Learn how in our [Create and Edit guide](/hub/agents/create-and-edit).
  </Step>
  
  <Step title="Set Up Automation">
    Integrate with CI/CD using headless mode and webhooks for continuous workflows.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Monitoring

You can monitor all activity for your Agents directly in **Mission Control**.

<AccordionGroup>

  <Accordion title="Inbox Overview">
    The **Inbox** shows every Task or Workflow run, and you can filter by Agent.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Detailed Session View">
    Click any session in the Inbox to open the Detail page.  

    Each session includes:
    - **Summary** — what the agent did and why  
    - **Diff** — generated code changes  
    - **Logs** — full execution trace, tool calls, and reasoning  

    This is the best way to review output, debug issues, or confirm correctness.
  </Accordion>

</AccordionGroup>

<Info>
All monitoring is scoped to your current workspace. 
</Info>

## Best Practices

The practice of using cloud agents, which we call Continuous AI, requires forethought to set up the right guardrails:

- **Start Small**: Begin with tasks you're confident Continue can accomplish
- **Use Thorough Prompts**: Agents can run for extended periods, so invest in detailed instructions  
- **Test Locally First**: Practice with TUI mode before deploying to production
- **Team Alignment**: Discuss agent usage and adjust code review habits for higher PR volume
- **Iterate and Improve**: Be willing to refine prompts based on results

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create an Agent" icon="plus" href="/hub/agents/create-and-edit">
    Build your first custom agent with prompts, rules, and tools
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="Explore Cookbooks" icon="book-open" href="/guides/overview#mcp-integration-cookbooks">
    Browse pre-built agents for security, analytics, and more
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="CLI Guide" icon="terminal" href="/cli/overview">
    Learn to run agents from the command line
  </Card>
  
  <Card title="Mission Control" icon="desktop" href="https://hub.continue.dev/agents">
    Access the web interface to manage agents
  </Card>
</CardGroup>